Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
monthly papers in English:
The Bocas Breeze
(
thebocasbreeze.com
)
and
The Bajareque
(
elbajareque.net
); primarily run by and for expats, they contain some useful listings.
TV and radio
On evenings in a bar or cafeteria you're likely to catch an unremittingly awful soap opera
(
telenovela
) on one of Panama's six terrestrial
television
channels. Many middle-class
Panamanians have access to cable TV with channels in Spanish and English.
Check out
coolpanama.com
for a list of
radio stations
, frequencies and their musical
preferences.
FESTIVALS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Panama is awash with festivals and public holidays. Alongside the numerous commem-
orations of historical events, there are copious Catholic celebrations - including each
town's patron saint bash, agricultural fairs and cultural extravaganzas that reflect the
country's ethnic diversity. Whatever the differences in the details, they all demand the
ability to survive several days and nights of music, dancing and processions, fuelled on
mountains of street food and gallons of booze. Head and shoulders above the rest stands
town of Las Tablas. See here and the relevant sections of the guide for details of the ma-
jor festivals.
A festivals calendar
JANUARY
Feria de las Flores y del Café
Mid-Jan. Ten-day celebration in Boquete to mark the coffee
harvest with carpets of flowers, food and craft stalls, the daytime family entertainment fol-
lowed by night-time discos.
FEBRUARY
Revolución Dule
Feb 25. Celebrates the Kuna Revolution of 1925, their Independence Day,
with colourful reenactments of battles against the Panamanian authorities held across the
comarca
.
Carnaval
Four days of wild partying and processions running till dawn on Ash Wednesday.
Celebrated countrywide, but especially in Las Tablas and Panama City, with an aquatic
parade on the Saturday in Penonomé.